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Thomas Brooks
Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680). English Puritan preacher and author born in Glastonbury, Somerset. Likely educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he entered ministry during the English Civil War, possibly serving as a chaplain in the Parliamentary navy. By 1648, he preached in London, becoming rector of St. Margaret’s, New Fish Street, in 1652, where he ministered through the Great Plague and Great Fire of 1666. A nonconformist, he was ejected in 1662 under the Act of Uniformity but continued preaching privately. Brooks wrote over a dozen works, including Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (1652) and The Mute Christian Under the Rod, blending practical theology with vivid illustrations. Known for his warm, accessible style, he influenced Puritan spirituality, emphasizing repentance and divine sovereignty. Married twice—first to Martha Burgess in 1640, with whom he had four sons, then to Patience Cartwright—he faced personal loss but remained steadfast. His sermons drew crowds, and his books, reprinted centuries later, shaped Reformed thought. Brooks’ legacy endures through digital archives and reprints for modern readers.
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Sermon Summary
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that God will never abandon His people due to their failings and infirmities. He illustrates this by comparing God's grace to a father's love for his children, highlighting that just as a father does not reject his children for their weaknesses, God also embraces His people despite their shortcomings. Brooks further explains that believers are members of Christ's body and His purchased possession, and thus, their flaws do not disqualify them from His mercy. He concludes that if God were to cast off His people for their imperfections, no one would be saved, as all have sinned and fall short of His glory.
Scriptures
Failings and Infirmities
God will never cast off His people for their failings and infirmities. First, It is the glory of a man to pass by infirmities, Proverbs 19:11. Oh how much more, then, must it be the glory of God to pass by the infirmities of His people! Secondly, Saints are children; and what father will cast off his children for their infirmities and weaknesses? Psalm 103:13-14; 1 Corinthians 12:27. Thirdly, Saints are members of Christ's body; and what man will cut off a limb because there is a scab or wart upon it? Fourthly, Saints are Christ's purchase; they are His possession, His inheritance. [Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 1 Peter 1:18-20] Now what man is there that will cast away, or cast off his purchase, his possession, his inheritance, because of thorns, bushes, or briars that grow upon it? Fifthly, Saints are in a marriage-covenant with God, Hosea 2:19-20. Now what husband is there that will cast off his wife for her failings and infirmities? So long as a man is in covenant with God, his infirmities can't cut him off from God's mercy and grace. Now it is certain a man may have very many infirmities upon him, and yet not break his covenant with God. In a word, if God should cast off His people for their failings and infirmities, then none of the sons or daughters of Adam could be saved: "For there is not a just man upon the earth that does good and sins not," Ecclesiastes 7:20.
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Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680). English Puritan preacher and author born in Glastonbury, Somerset. Likely educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he entered ministry during the English Civil War, possibly serving as a chaplain in the Parliamentary navy. By 1648, he preached in London, becoming rector of St. Margaret’s, New Fish Street, in 1652, where he ministered through the Great Plague and Great Fire of 1666. A nonconformist, he was ejected in 1662 under the Act of Uniformity but continued preaching privately. Brooks wrote over a dozen works, including Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (1652) and The Mute Christian Under the Rod, blending practical theology with vivid illustrations. Known for his warm, accessible style, he influenced Puritan spirituality, emphasizing repentance and divine sovereignty. Married twice—first to Martha Burgess in 1640, with whom he had four sons, then to Patience Cartwright—he faced personal loss but remained steadfast. His sermons drew crowds, and his books, reprinted centuries later, shaped Reformed thought. Brooks’ legacy endures through digital archives and reprints for modern readers.